April 07, 2006

Homer, Homer, Homer, Homer, Homer, Homer: In his first start since learning the knuckleball from Charlie Hough to extend his career, Texas Rangers pitcher R.A. Dickey served up six home runs to the Detroit Tigers. The only pitcher to give up more: Charlie Sweeney of the St. Louis Maroons, who gave up seven to the Detroit Wolverines on June 12, 1886.

I turned this game on for about 5 minutes last night in the fourth inning, what I saw was Chris Shelton, HR, followed by a walk and two more HRs. I was thinking that the Tigers might actually have a good year, this year......

I thought they were broadcasting batting practice. That's basically what the Rangers have to offer, though. Knuckleballers are only really valuable because they can pitch and pitch and pitch, allowing a bullpen to get some rest every so often. They'll notch you a win here and there, but they'll get tagged just as much. Luckily, nobody in the left field seats was seriously injured.

Knuckleballers are only really valuable because they can pitch and pitch and pitch, allowing a bullpen to get some rest every so often. Blasphemy. Tim Wakefield has been with the Red Sox for 12 years. He's their No. 2 starter. He notched 16 wins last year and led the team in wins, strikeouts and complete games. Charlie Hough was the Rangers' best pitcher for many of his years with the team. Holt Wilhelm and Phil Niekro are Hall of Famers. Knuckleheads are a strange lot, but the ones who are good enough to master the pitch over time can do a lot more than eat innings.

Blasphemy. So you get to a key game late in the season and you have your knuckleballer scheduled to take the mound. How confident are you going into that game? Most of these guys are just what I said, good sometimes, horrible the next. There are a lot of variables that go into determining how the pitch will be moving on a given day. Most knuckleballers are .500 pitchers (Charlie Hough was a perfect .500 pitcher for his career). I'll never forget Wilbur Wood for the White Sox. His records from '71-'75 were 22-13, 24-17, 24-20, 20-19, and 16-20. In that time he pitched 1,680 innings with 109 complete games! That's incredible. Like the old saying goes, it takes a pretty good pitcher to lose 20 games, but, like I said, whether he was winning or losing (both of which he did consistently) no other pitcher would even have to warm up. The team could let him go, knowing he's not going to (most likely) blow out his arm. I still think that's the biggest part of Wakefield's value, especially with Wells, Schilling, and (quite possibly) Beckett missing time, is his ability to eat innings. With the potent lineup behind him, that's usually enough.

rade - I think history tells us that successful knuckleballers are the exception, rather than the rule. Wakefield may be one of the all-time greats when it's said and done (I doubt very much we'll see the numbers of Niekro and Wilhelm again - it's a dying pitch) and upon looking at his career numbers they are good - not great. And Hough had a long career as a power pitcher first - then switched to the knuckler and threw on an additional ten years to his career. I swear his career keeps getting better and better the farther away we get from it. The Charlie Hough I remember was an innings eating, run giving up machine.

Don't forget Wilbur Wood was the last pitcher to start (and lose) both games of a doubleheader. Wood was also the first White Sox pitcher to record four consecutive 20 win seasons. In his best season (1971) only Vida Blue had a better WHIP.

Tim Wakefield has been with the Red Sox for 12 years. He's their No. 2 starter. While I agree with you in principle, the second statement is a bit disingenuous. Wakefield is the Sox' #2 starter only because putting him between two hard throwers theoretically makes it harder for batters to adjust day-to-day. He's somewhere between #3-5 depending on how often he looks like he did on Tuesday. I think history tells us that successful knuckleballers are the exception, rather than the rule. Or that they are rare birds. Many "knuckleballers" now in the game are guys on the brink of washing out who experiment with the knuckler (the Red Sox have an explicit policy of allowing all failing minor league pitchers to try to come back as knuckleballers, see Zink, Charlie, et al); I don't know if I would consider such a pitcher a knuckleball pitcher at all. By that logic, Wade Boggs qualifies as one.

Wade Boggs qualifies as one. It's strange you'd say that. When I first saw Dickey throwing in this game, I had the sound down and it looked like they'd brought a position player into the game for some reason. I've never seen batters tee-off as hard as they did last night against Dickey. The ball was doing nothing. It reminded me of a slow-pitch softball game.

"Knuckleheads are a strange lot, but the ones who are good enough to master the pitch over time can do a lot more than eat innings." Well, therein lies the difference between good and (in my best Mike Myers Scottish accent) CRAP!

Just Because you Can THrow A Knuckle Doesn't Mean YOu SHould!!! One More Bad Start And Dickey's Done. THat Knuckler had less movement than his fastball! Note* THe only Other Person TO Give Up That Many Home Runs (In The Last Century) is None Other Than Wakefield Himself. ANd It Was TO THe TIgers Too.

I think history tells us that successful knuckleballers are the exception, rather than the rule. There's no such thing as an unsuccessful knuckleballer. It's a pitch with no middle ground. You're either good enough to stay around forever or you're up there tossing batting practice and will soon be packing your bags. Did I worry when Charlie Hough took the mound? Of course. I love knuckeballers because of the insanity of throwing that pitch in the clutch. If Boston had scored a run in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, Tim Wakefield's performance would have been remembered forever. One bad knuckler to Aaron Boone and he was the goat. People thought the knuckleball was dying out with Hough, and they think today it's dying out with Wakefield. I expect there will always be 1-3 pitchers in the league with 49 on their backs serving up that crazy pitch, because knuckleheads help each other out and are mindful of the need to keep their kind around by recruiting potential new practitioners like Dickey.

Well, if Ball Four is any indication - it is a fraternity. I personally think that the knuckleball is the most overrated pitch of all time - and the successful knucklers are the ones that mix in the occassional other pitch as well. Wakefield throws about 80% knucklers. I'm not advocating it's elimination from the game - just that my team stays knuckler-free. I have Tom Candiotti nightmares from the last time.

THe only Other Person TO Give Up That Many Home Runs (In The Last Century) is None Other Than Wakefield Himself. ANd It Was TO THe TIgers Too. iNtereSting ENough, BOston aLso WOn tHAt GAme. I'm just excited that the Tigers are playing well so far, not that that means anything since they've only played three games but hey, I'm excited.

See, the thing about the knuckleballer is that he's only as good as his catcher. Look at the transition Wakefield has to make with Bard this year. He has been spoiled by having Mirabelli catch for him the last couple years. The knuckleball is very hard to control, thus, very hard to catch. When a batter is confidant that the pitch will not be controlled by the catcher, it dictates at which balls he will swing. Plus, it makes the fastballs more obvious. Wake's performance the other night is not only his own fault, part of the blame goes to the one who catches. fyi - the knuckleball is not as easy on the shoulder as most people think it is...

See, the thing about the knuckleballer is that he's only as good as his catcher. I don't see that at all. And I'm just going to ignore you using one performance with Josh Bard behind the plate as a trend. When did Dolug Mirabelli become Knuckle Jesus?

well jerseygirl, actually a good catcher can buy his pitcher quite a few borderline pitches if he is skilled at framing them and giving the umpire a good look at it. By this I do not mean 'pulling' pitches back into the zone, but a subtle turn of the glove, holding it for just a split-second longer than normal, letting the umpire get a GOOD second look at it. This is even more pronounced with a knuckler, because no-one is certain where the heck the pitch is going to end up.

actually a good catcher can buy his pitcher quite a few borderline pitches well said. catchers can be assholes like that, but you love it if it's for your team. See, the thing about the knuckleballer is that he's only as good as his catcher have any of you guys ragging on this quote ever heard of a catcher who handles his pitchers well. with any pitcher, a catcher calls the location and types of pitches all game long. they really are the unsung heroes of the game. if a pitcher pitches an incredible game, no mention goes to the catcher, who probably was the person framing all the called strike threes and dictating how to pitch to every hitter to get them out. on another note, to everyone saying that knuckle balls suck, have you ever tried to hit a good one? it'll fool the shit out of you.

When wakefield is pitching well, I love watching him. When he's not, nothing is worse. With a knuckleballer there's such a fine line between unhittable and batting practice. See, the thing about the knuckleballer is that he's only as good as his catcher.That doesn't make sense. The catcher has no bearing on the ability/skill/performance of the pitcher. posted by jerseygirlwell jerseygirl, actually a good catcher can buy his pitcher quite a few borderline pitches if he is skilled at framing them posted by elovrich Sure, but that's still a bullshit statement. Yes, a catcher can help any pitcher, and the ability just to catch the ball is a plus when it comes to a knuckleballer, but only to a point. A crappy knuckleball is crappy no matter who catches it. A great knuckleball is going to be unhittable regardless of who's catching (not to mention the calling of the pitches doesn't really even come into play with a knuckleballer). If Boston had scored a run in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, Tim Wakefield's performance would have been remembered forever. One bad knuckler to Aaron Boone and he was the goat. Actually, this was one of those rare cases where wakefield got a pass. Grady played the goat.

jerseygirl...Don't you just hate it when statements directed at you make it sound as if you know nothing about baseball when, in fact, you are knowledgeable about the game? Comment icon posted by ayankeefan at 8:34 PM CST on April 7 If you're asking seriously, and that wasn't an attempt at a backhanded jab, the answer is "No, I don't really give a god damn."

Sure, but that's still a bullshit statement. Yes, a catcher can help any pitcher, and the ability just to catch the ball is a plus when it comes to a knuckleballer, but only to a point. A crappy knuckleball is crappy no matter who catches it. A great knuckleball is going to be unhittable regardless of who's catching (not to mention the calling of the pitches doesn't really even come into play with a knuckleballer). Ding ding ding. Thank you.

Yeah, and a quarterback is only as good as his center. Jeez, don't you guys know anything? As a catcher, you generally don't call pitches to a knuckler; you may, as DJ8881 pointed out, save a couple of extra strikes during the course of a game, but the only reason people (wrongly) fixate on the importance of the catcher is that if he's not on his game while catching a knuckleball pitcher, you know it, because pitches go rolling to the backstop all day long.

have any of you guys ragging on this quote ever heard of a catcher who handles his pitchers well. with any pitcher, a catcher calls the location and types of pitches all game long. There endeth the lesson. Thanks. So you're saying Josh Bard isn't as good as Doug Mirabelli at saying "Knuckleball. Somewhere over the plate" for 80% of the pitches? I get that a Gold Glove catcher would get to a few more of the wilder offerings; I don't think anyone here needed that explanation. What I want to know is how much of an effect can a"good catcher" have on a knuckleballer's performance vs. a regular pitcher? Framing pitches is a lot less important than just corralling them.

You're not going to get many hitters that will just stand there and watch as knuckler after knuckler float by. "Framing" pitches for a knuckleballer, who has his pitch really working well, isn't as much as an issue as with a control-type pitcher. Catchers catching the knuckler just need to be able to corral the pitch, keep it in the mit, and also keep it from dribbling away with men on base. They also have to be willing to have balls bouncing in the dirt and off their chest, arms, mask, etc. consistently. With all that said, it would be obvious a knuckleball pitcher would be more comfortable with the guy who's been catching him for a long time. That's true with any pitcher.

Speaking of sore necks, anybody here remember when Toronto tattooed the Orioles for 10 homeruns in a single game? I think it happened in 1987, Ernie Whitt accounted for three of the jacks and Fred McGriff for a pair, can't remember who else piled on...

Speaking of sore necks, anybody here remember when Toronto tattooed the Orioles for 10 homeruns in a single game? I think it happened in 1987, Ernie Whitt accounted for three of the jacks and Fred McGriff for a pair, can't remember who else piled on... Whitt had 3, Mulliniks had 2, Bell had 2 and Mosby, McGriff and Ducey had one each. September 14, 1987

There's no such thing as an unsuccessful knuckleballer. It's a pitch with no middle ground. You're either good enough to stay around forever or you're up there tossing batting practice and will soon be packing your bags. I'm not sure this observation is unique to knuckleballers. See, the thing about the knuckleballer is that he's only as good as his catcher. I tend to agree that the catcher is more important to a knucklehead than to most other types of pitchers. Most knucklethrowers have a BP fastball whose effectiveness comes in the element of surprise (because it so much quicker and behaves so much differently than the expected knuckler). If a knucklechucker doesn't have confidence in his catcher, then he will have less confidence in throwing the k-ball with runners on base and will resort more, in those circumstances, to his BP fastball -- to avoid the dreaded passed ball, or to get the ball to his weak-armed catcher faster to keep Matt Stairs from stealing third. Stands to reason that the more a pitcher has to rely on a pitch that is not his out pitch, the more he is going to get tagged.

That's an interesting point. Thanks for that. Of course, Wakefield gave up one unearned run yesterday and Bard looked ok, so everything's 100% fine now. In all seriousness, Wakefield pointed out that Doug Mirabelli actually had 3 passed balls (to Bard's 2) in his first outing with Wake.